put your money where your ass wants to be

Am I alone in complaining about the leg room and general comfort of airline seats these days? Probably not.  Everyone who has traveled coach in recent years had less than stellar evaluations to make about the comfort of air travel in modern times.  It was not always so.  When I was a little girl my mother would ship my brother and me to the grandparents’ for summer vacations.   Back then there were two airline options in Brazil, Varig and Vasp there were few other players in the market and though both airlines provided great service, Varig was renowned for its onboard service.  You always had plenty of space, a hot savory meal with dessert, actual stainless steel flatware and dishes, a glass made out of glass, a cloth napkin complete with a button eyelet in case you wanted to protect your garment without tucking. The meal always gave you a choice between two entrees and the drink cart had everything from water to whiskey.  Sugar, salt and pepper were in with the flatware.  There was an individually wrapped wet wipe for you to freshen up before lunch, though it seemed redundant since the attendants distributed hot towels before serving the meal.  And oh, the leg room and the comfortable seats that reclined were things of beauty. Pillows and blankets galore.  The bathroom had little soap bars that were individually dispensed, feminine hygiene products, and multiple little compartments with personal care items.  Each seat pocket had a magazine, safety instructions and an individual zippered pouch with a toothbrush, comb, toothpaste, socks and other items to ensure your comfort. Yes, this was coach.

Then new players entered the market.  Varig and Vasp eventually went out of business and now we have dozens of airlines crisscrossing the skies. Competition is fierce. I don’t have to describe the current onboard conditions to you reader.  You know they are dismal.

New players entered the market providing less service and comfort for reduced fares. And we consumers voiced our opinions with our willingness to give up comfort to keep our money in our wallets. We complain about the airlines.  We say “charging for luggage is an outrage!” and we are outraged.  We say “charging for stale sandwiches is a slap in the face of the customer!” and we are offended. We say “My knees touch the chair in front, there is no room!” and we suffer.  We say “I will not stand for this” and then we buy the lowest fare we can find.  As a group we consumers opt for the cheaper fare.  People don’t purchase airline tickets because the airline offers them more service, comfort and food.  We compare prices and we purchase the lowest priced ticket. A few years back an airline advertised “hey, we have more legroom” did we the consumers flock to that airline and pay the few extra dollars for the additional comfort and service? No, we opted for the cheaper fare without legroom. So what did the airlines do?  They removed all service and reduced the fare.  Our behavior told the airlines that no service and low fares was in fact what we wanted.

Consumer behavior is at odds with consumer demands.  We demand great service and comfort, but when it’s time to put our money where our mouth is our behavior is just the opposite. We buy the lowest fare, not the best service. Every single time!

There are two choices people: 1 Stop complaining! Airlines are completely in sync with consumer behavior. They provide exactly what the consumers are willing to buy: no service, low fare.  2. Put your money where your ass wants to be. Pay for service, comfort and leg room. Well of course, there is the third, illogical and irrational choice that only leads to despair…. keep demanding service and opting the lowest fare without those services.  My guess is that consumers will flock to that third choice. If consumers were reasonable creatures marketing survey companies would be out of business.